Griffin Stout

HELA Block 2
Wilson
2 February, 2015
Perpetual Wars Effect on a Country
The United States is at war, and it has been at war for the past two decades, arguably
longer. Since September of 2001, the United States alone has racked up over 3 trillion dollars in
war expenses. Most countries involve themselves in, or support a war of some kind at all times.
Although it can be argued that war is beneficial for a country, there are several facts that oppose
this. War is extremely costly to a country, detrimental to the environment, and it also has a direct
effect on the level of governmental control of information.
War is costly to a country in many ways; the most obvious being money. Every aspect of
war costs money, and usually a lot of it. A single tank with upgrades costs approximately 7.5
million dollars - 7.5 million for a single tank!! How else might that money be used, instead of
building 5000 tanks that in all likelihood never be utilized? A military release in 2012 stated that
a single soldier in Afghanistan costs the U.S. about 815,000 per year. A political cartoon by
Andrew David Cox depicts Barack Obama flying a plane shooting at ISIS and Iraqi forces, who
have their own tanks firing back with tags saying To: Iraq, From: U.S.. This illustrates that the
U.S. hurts itself when supplying other countries with military armament. (Appendix A,
Document 1). It is a safe assumption that the costs of war outweigh the economic benefit.
Besides the monetary costs of war, there are other negative impacts to society. War often forces
a country to modify its foreign policies, which in turn affect the homeland. During the Cold War,
the United States and the USSR used rapid militarization to intimidate the opposing countrys

citizens. When citizens are in constant fear of an attack, it creates a huge damper on the
economy. If people are afraid their country is in jeopardy of being ripped apart by a nuclear
missile, their routines change drastically; stock market investment decreases, as well as the
general purchase of products. War also has a terrible effect on soldiers involved in the fighting.
With injuries such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury
(mTBI), there are often dramatic changes in personality and behavior without a change in ones
appearance. (Brainline Military). Without physical symptoms, a person could have developed a
serious disorder or injury that could go undetected by a medical professional. When these
disorders pass on to others, it is called secondary traumatization. The children of war veterans
can display similar symptoms of their mother or father because they are often learned behaviors.
There is good news. Communication between a parent and child can lead to a proper diagnosis
and treatment, leading to a full recovery. The toll war takes on society and the economy is easily
seen, however, it is just as important to realize the damage it causes to the environment.
War is detrimental to the environment. Whether it was the chemical defoliants used in
Vietnam, or any type of bomb, most weapons and tactics used in war have an effect on the
environment. Although chemical defoliants - chemicals used to destroy vegetation cover - have
been banned, there are plenty of other sources that attribute to environmental destruction. Bomb
detonation is obviously harmful, but when an army uses explosives, it targets key points of
opposing military force, such as food supplies, industrial infrastructure, or more importantly,
chemical factories. When a chemical plant is destroyed, chemicals discharge into the
surrounding area, including toxic waste. Damage to nuclear power plants is even more
devastating. During WWII, the Royal Air force took out several German dams. The flood
resulted in the destruction of 7000+ acres of farmland, inundated 125 factories, and sent water

rushing into several coal mines. Warfare can have more subtle effects on the land than huge
plumes of smoke. (Palmer). When American and Iraqi forces crossed Kuwait in the 90s, it
disrupted natural sediment layers, causing accelerated wind erosion, and wiping out vegetation
that sustained animals. Only two atomic bombs have ever been dropped, and for very good
reason. The complete annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII caused a
widespread eye-opening to the horrors of atomic warfare. Environmental impact of war on
society is unfortunately long-lasting, but government control of information can have equally
impactful consequences.
War often affects the level of control a government exerts in its countrys flow of
information. The most well-known example of this is North Korea. Restrictions on available
information are harsh. Although conditions are improving, most citizens have little to no contact
outside of the country. The government under Kim Jong Un, has almost complete control of
information. This feat is not even difficult. A director of GlobalSecurity.org spoke on National
Public Radio (NPR) explaining how the Iranian government controlled the internet, text
messaging, and other forms of communication. Well, if you own the pipelines, if you own the
central communications apparatus and all that stuff it's going to go through, it's just not that hard
to do. And at the end of the day, all of these forms of communications have got to have some
way of getting onto the global grid, and all of that's controlled one way or the other by the
Iranian government. (Pike). The big question to consider: Why? Why would the government
want to control the flow of information? When a country is at war, its government may not want
its citizens to know exactly what is going on. This ignorance can prevent revolts and uprisings.
As in the book, 1984, the government reasons that if the citizens are left unaware, they can tell

them what they want in order to control them. Controlling information is an important war
strategy that many governments use.
Perpetual war can be damaging to a country, and most are currently in a war. Wars are
extremely costly, bad for the environment, and can lead to governmental information control.
Even though all of these facts combine to make a formidable argument against war, ordinary
people dont seem to care or do anything about the violence of war. The light at the end of the
tunnel of war is a long way away and it doesnt look like war is coming to a stop anytime soon.

Appendix A
Document 1:

Works Cited
"BrainLine Military." The Invisible Injuries of War: Impact on Military Families and Children.
Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Hanson, Nikolai. "War Has Detrimental Effects on Society." Pamplin Media Group. 6 June 2012.
Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
Joyner, James. "How Perpetual War Became U.S. Ideology." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media
Company, 11 May 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
Pike, John, and Neal Conan. "How Governments Control The Flow Of Information." NPR. NPR,
1 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
Cox, Andrew David. "CCD Editorial Cartoon The Perpetual War on Terror." Camel City
Dispatch. 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
Gregory, John. "Government Control of the Internet." Slaw RSS. 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Feb.
2015.
Palmer, Brian. "How Does Warfare Affect the Environment?" The Green Lantern. 28 Feb. 2012.
Web. 26 Feb. 2015.